What engineering measures are in place to ensure we don’t get another disaster like the Titanic?
In: 9
In what specific sense?
In the specific case of the Titanic you had three major problems
1) A lack of life protection in the event the boat sank, this was largely due to the perception that having life boats would make people feel uncomfortable. We have both ditched that social perception and life safety is expected, we also have laws governing minimum life safety standards.
2) A lack of engineering know how/third party inspections. The boat was likely built *in the wrong way*. The metal fabrication and assembly techniques were not up to what we would now consider acceptable standards. We know how various laws governing the materials used in construction, standards in place for the quality of the materials, and legal inspection protocols ensuring those standards/laws are being followed.
3) The boat was in the wrong place at the wrong time, part of it was dumb luck, unusual conditions lead to increased ice flows in the area. Part was poor management putting the boat on a course and in conditions and at a speed it should not have been.
In a general sense, we have spent the last hundred years improving the built world (structures, vehicles, etc) to ensure the built world is not only safe every day, but in extreme circumstances.
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